Page 1 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

May 8, 2003 

The Honorable Bill Nelson 

Ranking Minority Member 

Subcommittee on Strategic Forces 

Committee on Armed Services 

United States Senate 

Subject: Information on Cancelled Integrated Flight Test-16 for Ground-based Midcourse 

Defense Element

Dear Senator Nelson: 

At your request, we are providing information on a Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) 

element flight test known as Integrated Flight Test (IFT)-16. This test was planned for the 

third quarter of fiscal year 2004 but was recently cancelled by the Missile Defense Agency 

(MDA), the agency within the Department of Defense (DOD) responsible for developing the 

ballistic missile defense system and its elements. Specifically, you asked that we determine 

the original purpose of IFT-16, how the test differed from IFT-14 and -15, and what new 

information IFT-16 would have provided had it been conducted. 

We found that the primary objective of IFT-16 was similar to that of past flight tests. The 

test was planned to assess the ability of GMD components to work together as an integrated 

element, capable of engaging and destroying a mock warhead. However, as described in the 

enclosure to this letter, IFT-16 engagement conditions and components differ from those in 

earlier tests. 

Had the Missile Defense Agency conducted IFT-16, it would have accomplished the 

following: 

• Increased the agency’s knowledge regarding the feasibility and effectiveness of 

GMD’s initial defensive capability, which DOD still plans to begin fielding in 

September 2004. 

• Provided an opportunity to assess GMD’s capability under new engagement 

conditions. Also, IFT-16 would have tested the GMD element in another intercept 

region, designated as R15 (see the attachment for a depiction of the intercept 

regions). A test in this region will now be delayed until IFT-17. 

United States General Accounting Office 

Washington, DC 20548 
Page 2 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

• Offered the first opportunity to flight test the radar at Beale Air Force Base, 

California, in an upgraded early warning radar configuration, and to flight test a new 

version of the battle management software. Flight tests of both the battle 

management software and the radar will be delayed until the radar certification 

flight—a non-intercept flight test denoted IFT-16A—which is scheduled for the fourth 

quarter of fiscal year 2004. 

Additionally, with the cancellation of IFT-16, MDA expects to have a 13-month gap between 

IFT-15, planned for January 2004, and IFT-17, scheduled for February 2005. 

Our analysis of the near-term flight test program provided in this report and its enclosure is 

based on the system-level GMD test document, Development Master Test Plan for the 

Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Element (draft), 15 November 2002. We also received 

MDA’s comments on our analysis and have incorporated them where appropriate. We 

conducted our review during May 2003 in accordance with generally accepted government 

auditing standards. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Defense; the Chairman, 

Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Armed Services Committee; and the Chairmen 

and Ranking Minority Members of the Senate Appropriations and Armed Services 

Committees. We will also make copies available to other interested parties upon request. In 

addition, this correspondence will be available at no charge on the GAO web site at 

http://www.gao.gov. 

Please contact me at (202) 512-4841 or Barbara Haynes at (256) 922-7535 if you or your staff 

have any questions concerning this report. Randy Zounes was a key contributor to this 

report. 

Sincerely yours, 

Robert E. Levin 

Director 

Acquisition and Sourcing Management 

Enclosure
Enclosure Enclosure 

Page 3 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

Background 

The Missile Defense Agency within the Department of Defense is developing and testing 

components of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element, which is intended to 

defeat long-range ballistic missile threats in the midcourse phase of flight.1 When fully 

deployed, the GMD element will include (1) space- and ground-based sensors to provide 

early warning and tracking of missile launches; (2) ground-based radars to identify and 

refine the tracks of threatening reentry vehicles and associated objects; (3) ground-based 

interceptors, each consisting of a three-stage booster and exoatmospheric kill vehicle, to 

destroy enemy missiles through “hit-to-kill” impacts outside the atmosphere; and (4) fire 

control nodes for battle management and execution of the GMD mission. Figure 1 depicts 

the principal components of the GMD element. 

Figure 1: Components Of The Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Element 

Source: GAO, based on MDA documents. 

 

1

 The midcourse phase of flight refers to that portion of a ballistic missile’s trajectory between the boost phase 

and reentry phase when the warheads and decoys travel on ballistic trajectories above the atmosphere. 
Enclosure Enclosure 

Page 4 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

Integrated Flight Tests 

To assess its progress in the development of the GMD element, MDA conducts integrated 

flight tests (IFTs). These tests are demonstrations of system performance during which an 

interceptor is launched to engage and intercept a target reentry vehicle (mock warhead) 

above the atmosphere. Currently, integrated flight tests are limited to target launches out of 

Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California, and interceptor launches out of Reagan Test 

Site (RTS) in the western Pacific.2 The Missile Defense Agency is progressing with the 

development of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Test Bed so that future 

integrated flight tests can be tested under new engagement conditions—different closing 

velocities, crossing angles, and interceptor flyout ranges. 

Building on the existing infrastructure, the BMDS Test Bed adds an interceptor launch site 

at Vandenberg Air Force Base; target launch facilities at Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska; a 

GMD fire control node at Fort Greely, Alaska; upgraded communication links between test 

bed components; and test infrastructure to support five new intercept regions (see Figure 2). 

In parallel, the early warning radar at Beale Air Force Base, California, and the Cobra Dane 

radar at Eareckson Air Station in Shemya, Alaska, are being upgraded for the missile 

defense mission. Finally, the ship-based Aegis AN/SPY-1 radar is available as a forwarddeployed asset for early target tracking. 

Figure 2: Intercept Regions Of Integrated Flight Tests 

RTS

Kodiak

VAFB

Beale

Aegis

2

Greely

Cobra Dane

16

GBI Launch GBI Launch

Target Launch Target Launch

20

# Intercept Region Intercept Region

3

XBR-P

15

1

RTS

Kodiak

VAFB

Beale

Aegis

2

Greely

Cobra Dane

16

GBI Launch GBI Launch

Target Launch Target Launch

20

# Intercept Region Intercept Region

3

XBR-P

15

1

Source: Missile Defense Agency. 

 

2

 Reagan Test Site (RTS) was formerly known as Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR). 
Enclosure Enclosure 

Page 5 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

Near-Term Integrated Flight Tests 

To address how IFT-16 differed from earlier flight tests, we compared IFT-16 to past and 

near-term GMD flight tests. The results of our analysis are shown in Table 1 at the end of 

this enclosure, which contrasts the engagement conditions and hardware / software 

configuration of IFT-16 with those of IFT-10, IFT-14, and IFT-15. To better understand the 

table, we have defined its terms below. 

Engagement Conditions

• Target Launch Location. The location from which the target missile, which 

deploys the mock reentry vehicle and decoys, is launched. The test bed will enable 

target launches out of VAFB, California, and Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC), Alaska. 

In all flight tests to date, the target launch location has been VAFB. 

• Interceptor Launch Location. The location from which the ground-based 

interceptor, which deploys the kill vehicle to engage the threat, is launched. The test 

bed will enable interceptor launches out of either RTS or VAFB. In all flight tests to 

date, the interceptor launch location has been RTS. 

• Intercept Region. The area over which an intercept is to occur. (Refer to Figure 2 

for a pictorial representation of defined intercept regions.) In all intercept flight tests 

to date (IFT-3 through IFT-10), the intercept region has been “R1”, which is about 700 

kilometers from RTS. 

• Closing Velocity. The relative speed at which the kill vehicle approaches the 

designated target (mock warhead). In early integrated flight tests (e.g., IFT-3), the 

closing velocity was roughly 7 km/sec (15,600 miles/hr). The closing velocities of 

recent and future integrated flight tests are classified. 

• Crossing Angle. The geometric angle between the velocity vectors of the kill 

vehicle and designated target. A head-on collision has a crossing angle of 180 

degrees, whereas a “tail-chaser” is any engagement with a crossing angle less than 90 

degrees. In early flight tests (e.g., IFT-3), the crossing angle was roughly 100 degrees. 

The crossing angles of recent and future integrated flight tests are classified. 

• Weapon Task Plan / Engagement Category. A weapon task plan consists of prelaunch instructions for generating an interceptor flyout solution that guides the 

interceptor toward the target. Associated with the weapon task plan is the type of 

engagement category, either “A”, “B”, or “C”, under which the mission will be 

executed.3 A weapon task plan is required before an interceptor is launched, and in 

all flight tests to date, the mission was conducted under a Category-A engagement. 

 

3

 The detailed definitions of Category A, B, and C engagements are classified. 
Enclosure Enclosure 

Page 6 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

• Fire Control Radar. The primary radar for providing the necessary targeting data 

to the fire control node that are used for generating a weapon task plan. Pending the 

outcome of ongoing analysis, the use of the Aegis SPY-1 radar in future flight tests for 

engagement planning (fire control) is under consideration. In all flight tests to date, 

the fire control radar had been a surrogate midcourse “radar”, which was a 

combination of a C-band transponder and the FPQ-14 radar.4

• Midcourse Radar. The midcourse radar provides refined targeting track data to the 

fire control node for the generation of in-flight target updates.

Configuration

The configuration of an integrated flight test refers to the description of hardware and 

software assets used during a particular test. The GMD element tested to date has been 

a functional representation of the GMD element, but all tests included some surrogate 

and prototype components. 

• Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV). The kill vehicles used in flight tests so far 

have been prototype articles. Beginning with IFT-14, a production-representative kill 

vehicle will be flown that is similar to the configuration to be fielded as part of Block 

2004. 

• Booster. The payload launch vehicle (PLV), a two-stage booster system consisting 

of modified Minuteman II motors and supporting subsystems, has been the surrogate 

for the interceptor booster in all integrated flight tests to date. It is scheduled to be 

replaced with two operationally representative test bed boosters that are currently 

under development – the Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) booster and the Boost 

Vehicle plus (BV+). These boosters will first be used in intercept attempts in IFT-14 

and IFT-15, respectively. 

• Fire Control Node. The fire control software is evolving to achieve more 

functionality and to address interfacing issues (i.e., linking the fire control 

component with other GMD components). 

• Beale Radar. The early warning radar at Beale Air Force Base has participated in 

integrated flight tests in a missile-defense role using legacy hardware and 

developmental software. The conversion of the early warning radar (EWR) at Beale 

to an upgraded early warning radar (UEWR), which consists of hardware and 

significant software upgrades, is planned for completion sometime during the middle 

of fiscal year 2004. 

• X-Band Radar. The Ground Based Radar Prototype (GBR-P), located at RTS, is a 

prototype of an X-Band radar that supports integrated flight tests. A sea-based Xband radar is under development to support flight-testing as a midcourse tracking 

and discrimination radar and is planned to become available in late 2005. 

 

4

 A C-band transponder was placed on the target reentry vehicle during previous flight tests. It was essential 

for the execution of flight tests, because in conjunction with the FPQ-14 radar located on Oahu, Hawaii, there 

were no other non-artificial options available to track the reentry vehicle with sufficient accuracy for executing 

the mission. 
Enclosure Enclosure 

Page 7 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

• Cobra Dane Radar. Cobra Dane is a phased array radar located at Eareckson Air 

Station in Shemya, Alaska. After planned software and hardware upgrades, which are 

scheduled to be completed in fiscal year 2004, Cobra Dane will have the additional 

mission of performing real-time acquisition and tracking—functions critical for 

ballistic missile defense, especially for engagements out of northeast Asia. There are 

currently no plans to demonstrate the capabilities of the Cobra Dane radar during an 

integrated flight test.
Enclosure Enclosure 

Page 8 GAO-03-767R Integrated Flight Test-16 

TABLE 1: GMD INTEGRATED FLIGHT TEST INFORMATION 

Integrated Flight Test 

IFT-10 

(Conducted 

12/02) 

IFT-14 

(Planned 

10/03) 

IFT-15 

(Planned 

01/04) 

IFT-16 

(Previously 

Planned 4/03) 

ENGAGEMENT CONDITIONS 

Target Launch Location VAFB VAFB KLC KLC 

Interceptor Launch Location RTS RTS RTS VAFB 

Intercept Region R1 R2 R2 R15 

Closing Velocity5 (km/sec) — — — —

Crossing Angle6 (degrees) — — — —

Engagement Category A B B B 

Fire Control Radar FPQ-14 Beale 

Radar 

Aegis 

SPY-1 

Aegis 

SPY-1 

Midcourse Radar GBR-P GBR-P GBR-P Beale Radar 

CONFIGURATION 

Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle Prototype Production 

Representative

Production 

Representative

Production 

Representative

Booster PLV OSC BV+ OSC / BV+ 

Fire Control Node 

(Battle Management) BI-2L V4.0 V4.0 V4.1 

Beale Radar EWR EWR EWR UEWR 

X-Band Radar GBR-P GBR-P GBR-P GBR-P 

Cobra Dane Radar N/A N/A N/A N/A 

(120251) 

 

5

 Closing velocities of listed flight tests are classified. 

6

 Crossing angles of listed flight tests are classified.